This weekend marked the 3rd annual Whitefish WhiteOut Rando Race in Whitefish Montana and the Canadian National Team was there in a strong showing. The nature of the course made for a demanding event. The technical downhills went by in a leg-burning blur and re-frozen moguls through tight trees separated the peloton quickly. Techy uptracks and aesthetic boot pack up NBC gully challenged all racers to keep their skins on and pace up weaving back to the main transition area for three laps. And on to flail down the last descent through hard packed groomers and moguls in dangerously tight trees, staying gripped until the finish line.

Local Montanian’s Brendan French(1:27) and Ben Parsons(1:29) grabbed the lead on the 2nd descent and held onto it for the rest of the race while Golden Skimo’s Reiner Thoni(1:30) succumbed to skin malfunction and was bumped to 3rd . James Minifie(1:36) of Fernie and Ian Gale(1:38) of Golden rounded out the top 5.

The female race division was a total sweep of the podium. Mel Bernier, Billie Velisek, Kylee Ohler, all members of the Canadian National Team, decided their places on the first climb and remainded that way for the whole race. Overall the Canadian National Team cinched 7 of the top 10 places in the Race category. Adding an extra twist, the organizers offered a $50 bill to the first racer who made it to the top of the first 2100ft ascent and Reiner Thoni crushed the previous course record by 2mins reaching the top in 27 minutes.

Another great weekend of racing and fun while visiting our new ‘Merican friends again. The Canadians are hungry for race experience and it’s apparent that the unity of the Canadian National team is paying off as we travel and train together in anticipation for the World Championship in March. All are stoked for the upcoming classic Sunshine 5000 in two weeks time.